In the Shadow of a Grave
by whatidowithmyfreetime
Summary: A year of isolation and conflict leaves Danny in need of the one thing he tries his best to avoid: His grave.


**I wrote this a heck of a long time ago on my phone. It has been sitting in my Notes for months, just waiting for me to remember it. I just read it and was like "Wow! This won't need that much editing, maybe it will satisfy the people waiting for Unseen Boy to update!" Call me lazy, but I cannot even bring myself to attempt to fix the disaster that is the new chapter of Unseen Boy. So instead you get this! It starts out kind of dark, but I promise it ends nicely. I tried a different style of writing for it (first person), and it's a nice change of pace. I hope you like it! By the way, sorry this author note isn't all that entertaining. It's nearly midnight and I'm a little preoccupied with the midterms I'll be taking tomorrow. (Wow this is a boring blurb) Disclaimer: Don't own Danny Phantom. Ole Butchy does.**

 **In the Shadow of a Grave**

Usually I love flying, but not tonight. I'm not feeling up to much of anything tonight. I glide limply through the sky. The dreary town rolls under me. The streets and houses are lined with lights. I used to think that was just for practical purposes. People need to see so they bring the sun into their own personal use where it normally wouldn't be. But that's just a front. The truth is that light is a lie. It's just something people use to deceive themselves. It hides the soul-sucking blackness behind its false cheer. It makes everything seem lively when it's really dead.

Since I woke up this morning, I've seen the truth behind the light. I've seen the dark that has a firm hold on everything. The smiles on the children's faces are ignorant. The flowers growing in the gardens are days away from withering. The families dining together in their homes are just keeping up appearances built by their society. And I'm just the guy hell bent on protecting this place. This dull, depressing clump of humans.

I've wasted a year of my afterlife trapped in this town. Ever since my death ghosts have been bothering me to no end. I expunge every ounce of my power fighting off one, only for another to instantly take its place. The citizens are less than grateful. Often times I'll be limping out of a fight with a welcome wagon of ghost hunters waiting for me. Always shoot first ask questions never.

What little free time I do have I spend wondering why I even bother. What ties me to Amity Park? Why do I care whether its people are hurt? How come I am already dead and yet I continuously make myself suffer? I can't even remember who I was! How am I supposed to know who I am? The only clue to any of these questions is that feeling. Its like a warmth in my core that gets stronger whenever I'm near the stone. My stone.

It's nothing special. Just your average, run of the mill gravestone. It's grey and lodged into the dirt six feet above the very thing I'm drawn to. And write across its face it says:

Daniel Fenton

(1990-2004)

It's very basic if I do say so myself. Not that I'm really complaining. Without this tombstone I would just be a ghost. A Phantom. That's what everyone sees. But inside I know I am some 14 year old kid named Daniel Fenton. Whatever reason I do what I do in death lies in what Daniel did in life. Usually I try not to linger too much on that. I mean sure I could try to track down my old family based off the name. But then what would I have? A group of people who miss me whom I can't even remember? That just sounds unfair to both me and them.

So I fight ghosts. I mock them with my quips. I laugh. I make a big joke out of being deceased. I fool myself into happiness. I don't know why I haven't been able to do the same today. I just feel as if the color blue swallowed me whole. Everything seems sad and dismal. And I feel so cold. So, so cold. I've spent the day fighting that craving. That need for the warmth my final resting place provides. I don't want to go back there. But for some reason that is exactly where I'm headed.

I make my descent down towards the graveyard. The fantastic warmth of the place beckons me. I glide in a daze towards its source. But then something causes me to pause. A sniffle. That nasty snarling inhale only the most miserable of people can get away with. It's probably just another mourner. It is a cemetery after all. It's not like they're so uncommon here. I continue on my way, silently stepping between the desolate graves until I am nearly at my own. I'm so out of it, that I don't even notice her until I'm five feet away.

She's leaning against my stone in a defeated way. Tears stream freely down her cheeks. Her hair is loose and attempts to cover up her sadness from the world. It doesn't work. I don't know what to think. She's leaning against my grave like its a tree. Normally that would make me pretty adamant on her being disrespectful. But her moping basically on top of me makes me think that she may know Daniel. Maybe she holds the answers I'm looking for.

I should leave. I should just turn around and never give her a second thought. Nothing good can come out of this if I'm right. And if I'm wrong than I've simply frightened a mourner, which would be a big no no.

"Are you okay?" Why? Why did I just speak? What possessed me to do something so stupid?! She jumps. Her eyes are purple. That's so strange. And at the same time extremely captivating. Oh now she's glaring at me. What have I done? "Sorry standard question." She cracks a slight smile. Not even that, really. It's more like for a brief second, her eyes lit up. It's gone before I can really register it. But I know for sure that I want to see it again.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off fighting some ghost?" She doesn't bother to wipe away her tears. I guess she doesn't really care if I see them. Who would I tell anyway? I don't talk to anyone.

"I'm a dead guy in a graveyard. Why wouldn't I be here?" I give her my most charming smile. Joking around always makes me feel better, so I figure it might work on her too. My change in mood may also be because of my closeness to the stone. All that cold I've been feeling is melting away. Already I am beginning to see the black of night as lightened by stars. I really should come here more often. It gets rid of the bad feelings like magic.

"Don't you think you're just enforcing the ghost stereotype of haunting a cemetery? You are your own person, not what society makes you to be." Well that was unexpected.

"Maybe it's because this is where I belong..." I trail off ominously. Saying that was a bit strange because while the warm feeling I experience near the stone makes it seem true. I also despise the thought of being anchored here. I like being free. It's probably why I love flying so much. And maybe it's also why I became a ghost. Maybe my freshly killed subconscious decided it did not want to be holed up for eternity. I still stand by that.

I shift my attention back to the girl in front of me. At this point she is looking up at me with an eyebrow raised. I wonder why? Maybe I've been spaced out for an uncomfortable amount of time. Oh. Yeah that's probably it. I cough in an attempt to break the awkward silence. Ugh this is unbearable. Why isn't she saying anything?! Fine. I'll say something.

"So! What brings you here?" Gross that came out way too enthusiastic. And I know why she's here. She's mourning. Stupid stupid stupid. She's probably going to throw some sarcastic comment back at me and then I'll have to leave before I feel completely better.

"I'm visiting a friend." Now she's the one being all ominous. I nod my head over at the stone.

"Daniel?" She turns her head up at me so fast that I'm pretty sure she got whiplash. Her eyes are searching mine in surprise and desperation. But all I can do is helplessly try to escape her gaze.

"You know Danny? Is he a ghost like you? Please tell me he's alright!" What do I say to that? Yeah I know Danny. You could even say I am Danny. So... Yes. He's a ghost. Am I alright? Um. I guess? No that wouldn't work. And even if I did tell her who I am, I still wouldn't remember any of my time with her. This is exactly why I never tried to find my family before.

"N-not really. I... Um... I kind of just read his name off the rock you're leaning on. Sorry."

"Oh." She looks crushed. Absolutely crestfallen. And now I feel like a jerk. I can't just leave her like this.

 **SAM'S POV**

It was stupid of me to just assume he knew Danny. That's like wearing a name tag and wondering why everyone seems to know your name. He probably thinks I'm an idiot. Nice job, Sam. You've made a fool of yourself in front of your hero. And today was such a great day already.

I woke up at some insane hour to go to that dreaded facility some cutely call school. Halfway through second period I went to jot down my homework in my agenda when I saw the date. The rest of the day was spent in the school bathroom crying. I can't believe it's been a year. An entire year since I last saw him.

Something is brushing against my arm. I turn to see Phantom slumping down against Danny's grave right next to me.

"What are you doing?" He looks at me with this unsettlingly familiar crooked smile.

"Tell me about him." I just look at him. He's the hero of Amity Park. The defeater of Pariah. The guy branded a criminal by the GIW. And he's just sitting here waiting for me to tell him all of my problems. I open my mouth to protest, but he stops me with a look. I sigh and put my head in my hands. This is going to be hard.

"Danny was... Is one of my two best friends. I met him way back in the second grade when I first moved here. He already had a best friend, Tucker. One day I went to grab my lunch from my cubby and saw that someone had thrown up in it." Phantom starts to make some sort of gagging sound. And even I'm starting to feel a bit sick just remembering it. "This kid, Tucker, came right up to me and said that Ricky Marsh had done it. To say I was angry would be an understatement. Lets just say that Ricky wasn't able to use his left arm for the next month." I nearly start laughing at Phantom's horrified expression. "Anyways... I was still pretty upset about the whole thing and Danny... I didn't even know him... He came up to me and hugged me." It takes me a minute to realize that I had stopped talking and just started looking at the sky. Phantom follows my gaze and smiles.

"You like the stars?"

"I love them. Danny and I used to go on his roof and stargaze all the time. I really miss that." The tears are starting to come back. "He wanted to be an astronaut. I guess he'll never be one now." Anguish is beginning to suffocate me. I want to scream. "IT IS SO UNFAIR!" Now I'm sobbing. All my pent up emotions are racking my body. And I can't stop. I can't even think to stop.

He wraps his arms around me. I push my face into his shoulder and without a single thought. He lets me cry. We stay like that for awhile. Who knows how long. At some point I run out of tears and just sit there still in his embrace. He's warm. It's strange because I always thought ghosts would be cold. And when I stay really really quiet I imagine his breath hot on my neck. His pulse playing out across his veins. But none of that can be real. He's a ghost. I have to keep reminding myself that he's dead.

Eventually I pull away and we just stare at each other. His cheeks are wet and his eyes are puffy.

"Why were you crying?" He looks at me in alarm and brings his hand against his face.

"I just remembered something."

"Something sad?"

"Yes." I pull him back into a hug. This one doesn't last nearly as long. Afterwards he smiles at me.

 **Phantom's POV**

I remember her. Sam. And as we speak more, I picture what she says. And when the images come into my head I know they're not just imagined. They're memories. She tells me all about Danny. About his horrible use of puns. About his love of video games. About his family and crushes and dreams. And pretty soon the little gaps between her stories begin forming all by themselves.

All too soon the night fades away and the cheerful sun starts its trek up the sky. We watch it in silence. Unlike before, this quiet is comfortable. We're leaning against each other. Sharing our warmth. Basking in our companionship. She lets out a yawn and stretches her arms.

"Tired?" I ask. She laughs. I love her laugh. It means she's finally happy. And all I want is for her to be happy.

"What can I say? I'm a creature of the night." The goth grins at me and I chuckle. I never realized the extent of my year of isolation until this moment. My loneliness is gone and I feel more free than I ever felt in the sky. But it seems like Sam hasn't been able to sink into the same friendlessness as myself. Her phone rings.

My super hearing lets me listen in on everything the person on the other line says. My core nearly melts at Tucker's voice. He and Sam talk for a few moments until she agrees to come over.

"He's been looking for me. I really should go over and tell him I'm okay." She seems reluctant to leave.

 **SAM'S POV**

Phantom gives me another one of his crooked smiles and offers me a ride.

"And how do you plan on pulling that off? I didn't know you had a phantom mobile." I can't believe I'm joking around right now. Before Phantom arrived last night, I was a mess. Humor seemed like an impossible task. And now look at me. I haven't really been like this since Danny was still alive.

"Actually I was planning on flying you." A deep red blush burns on my cheeks. Well this is embarrassing.

"I...um...okay." His eyes flash a blinding green in excitement. He scoops me up bridal style and jumps up into the sky. It's a weird feeling. It's like gravity should be pulling me down but instead we just continue going up. We go higher and higher. I feel so free.

He gives me an aerial tour of the town. Everything is so much smaller up here. My normally intimidating mansion looks like a dollhouse. I glance up at Phantom to tell him this. And then I just can't seem to look away. His green eyes are full of laughter and joy. His snow white hair is rolling back with the wind. He exudes power and control. He looks at me and grows confused at my expression.

"What's wrong, Sam?"

"Nothing!" I stammer while my cheeks begin to resemble tomatoes. His eyes widen a bit and he turns away. I must be going crazy because I could almost swear he has his own blush crawling up his face.

We swoop down and right through my bedroom wall. That's strange. I don't remember telling him where I live.

I walk him over to the window and we just stand there. Neither of us want him to leave. But both of us know he must.

"I guess this is it." He looks resigned. His earlier happiness is gone from his features.

"It doesn't have to be. You can visit!" I stare into his eyes desperately. I want him to come back. I don't want him to just vanish from my life all together. A wide smile stretches across his face from ear to ear.

"I'd love to!" We hug. All of the rest of our goodbyes are spoken like this. No words. Just the act of being in each other's arms is enough. He lets go and backs through the window. I lean out and smile up at him.

"Let's hang out again soon!" I call out. His laugh rings pleasantly in my ears. When he at last calms down he looks at me almost lovingly.

"I've really missed you, Sammy." And with that he disappears. Leaving me standing there gawking.

"Danny?"

 **Yeah so apparently I was going through some kind of deep person phase at the beginning. Wonder where that came from?**


End file.
